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The analysis of genetic diversity is very essential to understand the evolution and adaptability of livestock species to different environmental conditions. Genetic variation is the raw material for selection and foundation for breed improvement programmes. The use of high throughput molecular marker technologies, advanced statistical and software tools have revolutionized the precision of animal genetic diversity analysis in a large number of populations with limited time and resources. SNP genotyping is one of the best methods to study genetic variation due to its abundance in livestock species, stability and cost-effectiveness. In this review, some of the most popularly used diversity analysis software programs in livestock genomics are discussed briefly. Microsatellite-based software such as Genepop, Fstat, Genetix, TFPGA, Stackpack, Arlequin and other multipurpose software such as PLINK, PowerMarker, TASSEL, BEAGLE, R software packages (GenABEL, SNPassoc, snpstats, SNP relate), Gemma, SNP Express, SVS, etc. can be utilized for diversity analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In spite of increase in milk production, dairy farmers suffer huge economic losses due to mastitis even in very well organized and modern farms. It has been observed that with the increase in the ability of milk production, dairy animals become more susceptible to mastitis. One of the most common causes of mastitis is infection of the mammary gland caused by bacteria like Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli responsible for invoking sub-clinical and clinical mastitis, respectively. The resistivity or susceptibility of species/breeds towards mastitis depends on mode and intensity of immune response to invading pathogens. Inflammation of the mammary tissue results in the release of several cytokines, among which release of interleukin 10 (IL-10) has been identified as an important cytokine for the control of immune response. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the level of IL-10 expression when Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMCs) isolated from Crossbred cattle, Tharparkar cattle and Murrah buffalo were stimulated by antigens obtained from Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. The results demonstrated deviations in the level of IL-10 expression among these breeds and species in response to the stimulation by the same dose of antigens. Abbreviation: CMT (California Mastitis Test); ELISA (Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay); LPS (Lipopolysaccharide); LTA (Lipoteichoic acid); PBMCs (Peripheral Blood Mononuclear cells); PGN (Peptidoglycan); SCC (Somatic Cell Count) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, to analyze the genomic ROH fragments, haplotypes, inbreeding coefficient and effective population size (Ne), SNP50K data of 72 Vrindavani crossbred cattle strain were obtained. After a quality check, 24,449 biallelic SNPs were retained, which were in HWE, MAF > 0.01 and genotyping rate >95%. A total of 385 ROH were found, and chromosome 25 was mostly covered with 50.86%, while chromosome one was least with 12.42%. We classified ROH into <10Mb, 10-15Mb, 15-20Mb, >20Mb categories and observed a 3% inbreeding coefficient for the population in >20Mb category. Inbreeding from an excess of homozygosity was found to be 6% in the population. Ne was also estimated through Ne Estimator and SNeP and in the recent generation, it was found to be 40 for a census size of 464 cattle. The Ne/Nc ratio was found to be 0.086 and a decreasing trend of Ne was observed for over five generations. 45.95% of the autosomal genome was covered with haplotypic structure with highest total block length in chromosome one and lowest in 28. From all the observations made in this study, it can be concluded that Vrindavani is an admixed cattle strain but have an unstable population structure in the current period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Epigenetics refers to the study of heritable phenotypic changes without alterations in the DNA sequence. Advanced studies in epigenetic molecular mechanisms and their biological functions have relied on various model systems including bacteria, fungi, plants, insects, and mammals. The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster has been an established model organism in the study of genetics and developmental biology. Many regulatory pathways are conserved in Drosophila compared to mammals, rendering it a powerful model to study epigenetic mechanisms. In this review, we outline the various epigenetic mechanisms and their importance in Drosophila chiefly focussing on the predominant epigenetic variations such as DNA methylation, histone modifications like H3K18 acetylation, H3K27 and H4K20 methylation, H3S10 phosphorylation, H2K118 ubiquitylation, H4 sumoylation, RNA associated silencing, polycomb proteins, PEV (position effect variegation), TPE (Telomeric position effect), and dosage compensation. All these types of epigenetic mechanisms can be studied precisely in Drosophila by inducing various mutations in the genome. Advanced studies in Drosophila epigenetics helps to understand genomic imprinting, neurological memory, circadian rhythms, aging, and carcinogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Milk β-casein has attracted extensive research interest in the dairy industry and animal breeding as a source of high-quality protein for human diet; however, adverse health effects have been ascribed to A1 β-casein variant consumption. A study was conducted to genotype the polymorphism in milk β-casein gene and examines the potential association between β-casein genotypes and milk production and reproduction traits in population of Frieswal cows. β-Casein A1/A2 genotype had significant effect (P ≤ 0.05) on several production traits including Total Milk Yield (TMY) (P ≤ 0.05), Milk Milk yield 300 days (MY300) (P ≤ 0.05), Lactation Length (LL) (P ≤ 0.01) and Peak Yield (PY) (P ≤ 0.01). β-Casein A1A1 genotype cows had significantly lower TMY, MY300, PY and DP as compared to A1A2 and A2A2 genotypes. A1A2 genotype had highest TMY, MY300, PY and DP; however, A2A2 and A1A2 genotypes were not significantly different from each other. The results pointed towards the superiority of A2 β-casein variant for several production traits in crossbreds. Further, with higher price of A2 milk, the inclusion of β-casein A1/A2 genotype in the selection of crossbreds offers higher profitability from dairy enterprise as well as provides a nutritional wellness product for consumers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]